Scribe signs script deal, snags exec producer role

In addition to the deal to pen the script, which reaches into seven figures, Kruger will for the first time step into an exec producer role, setting him up for the largest payday of his career.

Onboard to helm is Sanji Senaka, who will make his feature debut on the pic. Daniel Bobker will produce.

Pic adapts Annette Curtis Klause’s popular teen horror novel, which portrays a secret society of werewolves living in modern society. Original story, which will be reworked by Kruger, follows the difficult romance between a young woman werewolf and a human boy.

MGM is readying “Blood” for a summer start.

Senaka, who has previously used only his first name professionally, has become best known for the distinctive and surreal imagery he uses in his musicvideos. For instance, the video for Tori Amos’ “A Sorta Fairytale” features the heads of Amos and Adrien Brody digitally mounted on a leg and an arm, respectively. Vid for Lauryn Hill’s “Everything Is Everything” turned Manhattan into a giant turntable.

Bobker is producing two other Kruger-penned pics: Terry Gilliam-helmed “The Brothers Grimm,” starring Matt Damon and Heath Ledger for Dimension and MGM, and Universal’s thriller “The Skeleton Key,” which will be helmed by Iain Softley and star Kate Hudson. “Grimm” wrapped late last year, and “Skeleton Key” is set to start this spring.

Kruger became a sought-after scribe when “The Ring” grossed $129 million domestically for DreamWorks. He was quickly booked for other work, including “The Ring 2,” which is readying for a spring start, and “The Talisman,” the Stephen King adaptation being produced by Steven Spielberg and Kennedy/Marshall for DreamWorks and Universal. “Talisaman” is set to shoot this summer.